Top 10 Things To Do in Asheville

Build your own adventure in North Carolina with these delightful activities.

5 Minute Read

By Maryellen Kennedy Duckett

Photographs by Krista Rossow

The western North Carolina mountains are calling and you must go—to Asheville. Unplug in the wild spaces. Sample craft brews and farm-to-table cuisine. Hang with the local artists, musicians, foodies, and other forward-thinkers whose creative energy helps keep Asheville homegrown, welcoming, and unabashedly weird.

PADDLE THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER

View Images

A stand up paddle board tour with Wai Mauna SUP explores the French Broad River near Asheville at dawn.

Photograph by Krista Rossow

For an up-close look at Asheville’s wild side—including herons, otters, and turtles—stand-up paddle (SUP) one of the world’s oldest rivers with Wai Mauna (open late April to October). Never SUPed before? No problem. Wai Mauna uses wide and stable boards, and expert guides provide personal instruction. On hot summer afternoons, the four-mile SUP route on the French Broad can get crowded with river tubers. To ensure a serene experience, begin the day with a Wai Mauna Dawn Patrol tour. An added bonus of getting on the water early: you’ll finish in time for breakfast tacos at Taco Billyor BattleCat Coffee Bar in West Asheville.

GO HOT-AIR BALLOONING

View Images

The shadow of a hot air balloon can be seen on a colorful balloon below it, overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Photograph by Krista Rossow

Get eagle’s-eye views of the Hominy Valley, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and beyond on a sky-high flight with Asheville Hot Air Balloons. “When I’m flying, it feels like I’m in the middle of a living art display,” says Asheville Hot Air Balloons co-owner and pilot Rick Bowers. “Imagine the ancient mountains of the Blue Ridge rising to over 6,000 feet in the distance [and] the drama of Mount Pisgah in the foreground looming larger than life as the jewel of that crown. Beneath us the fog rolls like white-water rapids.” Flights are available year-round, weather permitting. Early spring and late fall typically have the fewest flyable days.

VISIT GALLERIES AND STUDIOS

Bring home a Southern Appalachian original, including pieces crafted from local clay, “reclaimed urban harvest” wood, and other locally sourced materials. The River Arts District alone is home to more than 200 professional artists—such as jewelry makers, potters, painters, and metal sculptors. At the Folk Art Center, home of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, watch live craft demonstrations (March to December). The center houses the nation’s oldest continuously operated craft shop (founded in 1897 in neighboring Madison County), where you can buy fine traditional and contemporary crafts, including mountain quilts, leather satchels, and handblown glass ornaments.

HIKE FOR A SUNRISE OR SUNSET VIEW

View Images

The sun rises over the top of Craggy Pinnacle Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Asheville.

Photograph by Krista Rossow

Awe-inspiring sunrise and sunset views can be seen all around Asheville, if you know where to look. Some vantage points, including 5,892-foot-high Craggy Pinnacle and the summit of 6,214-foot Black Balsam Knob, require a moderate uphill hike. The rewards? From Craggy Pinnacle you can see 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi. Black Balsam Knob is one of the top spots to watch the setting sun glow over Shining Rock Wilderness, Looking Glass Rock, and Mount Pisgah. For a different sort of hike—and spectacular views of Great Smoky Mountains National Park—climb up the Fryingpan Mountain lookout tower.

JOIN THE DRUM CIRCLE

View Images

The Asheville Drum Circle has been a Friday night tradition in Pritchard Park (during warmer months) in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, since 2001. The event draws a diverse crowd of drummers, musicians, dancers, other performers, and spectators.

Photograph by Krista Rossow

Asheville moves to the beat of an unabashedly different drummer. So it’s no wonder that the community’s iconic Friday night drum circle is the best all-sensory introduction to local culture. Held outdoors in downtown Pritchard Park during warmer months and indoors at the New Mountain AVL music venue in winter, the pulsating gathering is a rhythmic bonfire of sorts. People of all ages are drawn to the circle to drum, dance, sing, hula hoop, or simply watch in wonder. The beat goes on from about 6 to 10 p.m. To unleash your inner drummer at the circle, build some basic skills in a beginner class at Skinny Beats Drum Shop.

VISIT BILTMORE

Come home to America’s largest private residence, the 250-room Biltmore House. Completed in 1895 by industrialist George Washington Vanderbilt II (and still owned by his descendants), the French chateau-style mansion has four acres of floor space—more than enough to hold its 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, and indoor swimming pool. You can’t sleep in one of the 34 bedrooms, but there are two places to stay—the Village Hotel and the Inn on Biltmore Estate—on the 8,000-acre Biltmore grounds. Rent a bike to explore the outdoors, and take one of the guided tours to see rooms, rooftops, and other spaces off-limits on the standard house tour.

EMBRACE THE AFTER-DARK SCENE

View Images

Visitors enjoy an evening out at Wedge Breweing Company in the River Arts District while a live band plays.

Photograph by Krista Rossow

When the sun goes down, the action heats up in Asheville’s brewpubs, clubs, restaurants, and outdoor cafes. Live music regularly is on tap at local brewpubs—including Wedge at Wedge Studios, Highland Brewing Company, and Black Mountain’s Pisgah Brewing. The old-school Jack of the Wood Celtic pub hosts weekly singer-songwriter nights and bluegrass jams, and Isis Music Hall is one of the top spots to hear new artists. After catching a show at Asheville’s preeminent music hall, the Orange Peel (past performers include Bob Dylan, Macklemore, and the Smashing Pumpkins), walk across the street to Bartaco for a taco-and-tequila nightcap.

SHOP DOWNTOWN

View Images

Two patrons read a book in the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar in the Grove Arcade.

CULTIVATE WELLNESS

View Images

Locals relax in a room made of wood and rock salt crystals in the aptly named Salt Cave.

Photograph by Krista Rossow

A dose of Asheville is the perfect prescription for stress relief. Breathe the cool mountain air, soak in the thermal springs, and rejuvenate at one of the area’s many day spas or wellness resorts. In the Asheville Salt Cave (inconspicuously located beneath a downtown parking garage), experience the healing benefits of salt therapy. A 45-minute session combines healing salts (particularly helpful in clearing clogged sinuses), soothing music, and a therapeutic light treatment. At the Spa at the Omni Grove Park Inn, indulge in a bliss-inducing body treatment. For an only-in-Asheville experience, try the spa’s mountain honey wrap—an exfoliation, wrap, and massage using locally harvested sourwood honey.